AUDIENCE SCORE

When a Man Loves a Woman Photos

Movie Info

A dramatic treatment of a family torn apart by alcoholism and recovering from it, this was a star vehicle for popular actress Meg Ryan, who plays Alice Green, a school counselor who has a serious drinking problem. Her husband is Michael (Andy Garcia), an airline pilot. Though she's lighthearted and loving, Alice is often reckless and, when drunk, even neglects her children, nine-year-old daughter Jess (Tina Majorino) from a previous marriage, and four-year-old daughter Casey (Mae Whitman), whose father is Michael. After an accident, Alice realizes that she has "hit bottom" and goes into a clinic for rehab. When she returns home, she has kicked her addiction and has become independent and strong, and her perfectionist, controlling husband has trouble adjusting. Michael is used to his wife being weak and helpless, and they end up seeing a marriage counselor to recover from Michael's "co-dependency" on Alice's role as an alcoholic.

Audience Reviews for When a Man Loves a Woman

MegRyan continues to be one of my favourite actresses and this movie is proof why. Andy Garcia also excelled as a loyal husband helping his wife get through her troubles.

Sajin P A

Super Reviewer

Michael and Alice Green (Andy Garcia and Meg Ryan) appear to be the perfect " yuppie" couple. They live in a cozy home and have two lovely young daughters. Theyre passionate about their jobs (hes an airline pilot, shes a junior high guidance counselor) and after five years of marriage, they still look at each other with the sexy adoration of high school sweethearts but Alice has a dirty little secret she drinks....from the moment she gets up.
When her addiction is discovered, she goes into detox, and the movie becomes the story of how her agonizing recovery tears apart a family that was never what it seemed in the first place.

When a Man Loves a Woman Quotes

Michael Green:

My wife is an alcoholic. Best person I ever met. She has 600 different smiles. They can light up your life. They can make you laugh out loud, just like that. They can even make you cry, just like that. That's just with her smiles. You'd have to see her with her kids. You'd have to see how they look at her, when she's not looking. To think of all the things she lives through, and I couldn't help her.

Alice Green:

It's horrifying how much you can hate yourself for being low and weak and he couldn't save me from that. So I turned it on him; I tried to empty it onto him. But there was always more, you know. When he tried to help I told him that he made me feel small and worthless. But nobody makes us feel that, we do that for ourselves. I shut him out because I knew if he ever really saw who I was inside, that he wouldn't love me. And we're separated now, he's moved away, and it was so hard not to beg him to stay. And I don't know if I'm going to get a second chance but I have to believe. That I deserve one. Because we all do.

Alice Green:

I think I could love you again if you could, for once, say 'I don't know.'